Should Christians Be Cremated?

[This Vale Of Tears]

I never gave it much thought until I heard Hank Hennograff make mention of it. The Bible Answer Man asserted the conflict of traditions as a reason Christians should consider burial and not cremation. Christians look to the holy Scriptures and see that the graves will one day be opened, and the dead will be raised and even the sea will give up its dead. For centuries burials on land and at sea have included sermons that alleviate our grief with the sure hope that the dead in Christ will one day be called forth from their graves.

Cremation is associated strongly with Eastern beliefs about the soul being prepared for reincarnation by burning the body. I know that cremation today is considered more for practical reasons, mainly cost, but it still flies in the face of the traditional obsequies of Christian burial. I have to wonder if we ought to not be so cheap. Comparing an $800 cremation to a $10,000 burial obviously brings cost to the forefront of that decision, but I think that even with the financial difficulty, it's worth the money to be buried in the same manner as Christians have for 2000 years and with the same hope they held dear in times of loss.

 

[lforrest]

Do you think the cremated will not rise?

I wouldn't cremate any of my family, but only because it is more respectful to their bodies and keeps with tradition. Baring in mind that tradition was rooted in the very concern you have mentioned.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

 

[This Vale Of Tears]

Do you think the cremated will not rise?

I wouldn't cremate any of my family, but only because it is more respectful to their bodies and keeps with tradition. Baring in mind that tradition was rooted in the very concern you have mentioned.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

I definitely believe that the cremated will rise. God keeps track of every atom in the universe. Nobody will be lost.

 

[williemac]

I definitely believe that the cremated will rise. God keeps track of every atom in the universe. Nobody will be lost.

amen.

 

[Dodo_David]

Uh, if I am not mistaken, most Christians who have been dead for 1,000 years no longer have earthly bodies, because their bodies have turned to dust.
Cremation merely speeds up the process.

 

[Pelaides]

I never gave it much thought until I heard Hank Hennograff make mention of it. The Bible Answer Man asserted the conflict of traditions as a reason Christians should consider burial and not cremation. Christians look to the holy Scriptures and see that the graves will one day be opened, and the dead will be raised and even the sea will give up its dead. For centuries burials on land and at sea have included sermons that alleviate our grief with the sure hope that the dead in Christ will one day be called forth from their graves.

Cremation is associated strongly with Eastern beliefs about the soul being prepared for reincarnation by burning the body. I know that cremation today is considered more for practical reasons, mainly cost, but it still flies in the face of the traditional obsequies of Christian burial. I have to wonder if we ought to not be so cheap. Comparing an $800 cremation to a $10,000 burial obviously brings cost to the forefront of that decision, but I think that even with the financial difficulty, it's worth the money to be buried in the same manner as Christians have for 2000 years and with the same hope they held dear in times of loss.

You claim to be a catholic,so any catholic should know that one of the criteria for sainthood,is the condition of the body when they exhume it.Most of the saints bodies have suffered very little corruption despite being buried for many years.

 

[Dodo_David]

.Most of the saints bodies have suffered very little corruption despite being buried for many years.

Uh, and your evidence of this is . . .?

 

[aspen]

catholics can be cremated, but i would rather follow tradition and be buried.

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

My personal preference would be burial , not cremation ..... but I give it a lot of thought because traditional funerals are so bloody expensive .... when my elderly parents passed we did the cheapest traditional funeral and they still cost $6k to $10k for each

I have observed good arguments for and against cremation from christian leaders but opinions appear to be divided evenly .

My sister said she thinks the Jewish way is best (we are not Jewish)

The way she explained it they do not embalm or have open coffins or elaborate funerals .... they simply seal the body in a casket and try to bury it within 3 days .... it is (apparently) a quick informal service

I think that would be my preference , just seal me up in a cheap coffin , hold a normal funeral in my church (they dont charge anything) ,

Trouble is funerals are often regulated to some degree , usually you must use a licensed undertaker , a hearse has to be rented , a backhoe to excavate the grave site ahead of time , etc etc .... so the costs still add up .

I think back in the old days most (christian) burials were taken care of by the church you attended , volunteers dug the grave by hand , and the graveyards were often on church property.

Just thinking out loud .... my concern is mostly the cost and that is why I still toy with the cremation idea.

Yet I still feel it is Pagan for some reason.

Isn't there some mention in the bible where the bodies are burned in an ash pit or something?? I seem to recall that. Anyone know ?? Thanks.

ps: I can afford a traditional funeral .... most of my family try to do some planning .... but when we look at the hundreds of thousands of dollars it will cost we get the jitters. I dont care what anyone says .... it is too expensive.

 

[williemac]

Most likely some of those who feel that cremation handcuffs God in some way, don't take into consideration that the resurrection is not about being raised back to life. It is about coming back to this earth. And it is about coming back with a new body, not the one that they had previously.

Those who are presently dead in Christ are not unconscious. They are alive and well and in His presence.They are just waiting for their new body. According to 2Cor.5:1, they even have a body now, in the heavens. But it is a spiritual one. The old physical one will never be fully reconstructed nor does it necessarily need to be used for raw material. It returns to dust, as it were.The new body will be a 'hybrid' of both spiritual and physical, like the one Jesus had while on the earth after His resurrection, and still has now. Jesus is our "raw material". He is our new Adam.

The Christian based fear of cremation is just a little too much like superstition for my liking. It is the result of human logic, and not something forbidden by God.

 

[aspen]

My preference for burial will not override the cost - if I have not saved enough or my family wants to go a different route, I am not going to complain

 

[Pelaides]

Uh, and your evidence of this is . . .?

St.Sylvan was martyred in 350 A.d his body is still miraculously intact despite having been dead for over a 1000 years.

St Bernadette of lourdes she died in 1879.Her body is on public display in Lourdes.

I cant post a link,so you would have research the others on the internet.

 

[Dodo_David]

St.Sylvan was martyred in 350 A.d his body is still miraculously intact despite having been dead for over a 1000 years.

St Bernadette of lourdes she died in 1879.Her body is on public display in Lourdes.

I cant post a link,so you would have research the others on the internet.

From howstuffworks.com:

In the 20th century, the Catholic Church discontinued the practice of using incorruptibility as a prerequisite for sainthood. The Church wasn't responding so much to the fraud of some cases, but to the cases in which incorruptible corpses didn't extol Catholic piety. Members of other religions have been discovered in uncorrupted states.

 

[Pelaides]

From howstuffworks.com:

They seemed to be confused as to why Cardinal Shusters body is uncorrupted,even though he was a facist.It just shows that God is the final judge,not man.

 

[Dodo_David]

The article that I quoted says, "Members of other religions have been discovered in uncorrupted states."

So, if the bodies of deceased Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims are uncorrupted, then are we to conclude that God rewarded them for their faiths?

 

[Pelaides]

The article that I quoted says, "Members of other religions have been discovered in uncorrupted states."

So, if the bodies of deceased Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims are uncorrupted, then are we to conclude that God rewarded them for their faiths?

Like i said God is the final judge not man.

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

Some more thinking out loud from me

--we all expect a new resurrected body some day
--does God "gather up" our old residue and use it ?
--Jesus earthly body was taken up
--The graves of many OT saints were opened at the crucifixion
--Are we not expecting a resurrection from the grave some day ??
--If we scatter our ashes on the Atlantic ocean will God use them ??
-- at the rapture our bodies will be changed , not abandoned .

It is these nagging thoughts that make cremation confusing to me.
Yet if we burned in a house fire it would not be an issue
Cremation would be the cleanest and quickest way but many Christians are still reluctant (including me)

 

[tom55]

Uh, if I am not mistaken, most Christians who have been dead for 1,000 years no longer have earthly bodies, because their bodies have turned to dust.
Cremation merely speeds up the process.

Good answer DD, I was going to say almost the exact same thing until I came upon your post. You beat me to it, you stole my thunder . I would only add this; Genesis 3:19

 

[DoUPray2]

Iforrest wrote:
Do you think the cremated will not rise?

This Vale Of Tears wrote:
I definitely believe that the cremated will rise. God keeps track of every atom in the universe. Nobody will be lost.

Amen Vale!!! I, too, believe that when God calls our name, EVERY ash from the four corners will all come together and so we will stand before Him!!

 

[Kevin]

There is nothing in scripture that forbids cremation. The cost of burials are outrageous and honestly, a lot of people can not afford it. Both my dad and my stepmom died within the past year and by the time everything was paid for, it was close to $10,000 each. That is a lot of money and if you haven't prepared for it before hand, it can be a serious burden on the family.
And yes, both the buried and cremated will rise at the trumpet call of God. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says "The dead in Christ will rise first"...not "only those who are buried".